


Together forever

by GirlWolfTattoo



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Creepy, Dubcon Kissing, Dubious Morality, Heavy Angst, Lost Love, Other, is this a paraphilia?, valdemar please stop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 15:49:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17880659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlWolfTattoo/pseuds/GirlWolfTattoo
Summary: An unfortunate mismatch leads Renata to know more about Quaestor Valdemar's deep secrets, specially one she wouldn't like to know, one to die for.





	Together forever

**Author's Note:**

> I pinky promise this is the last time I write something that disturbing, but I wanted to try some twisted endings according to the apprentice's well known fate. If you're up to an evil, creepy, monstruous vision of it, please enjoy!

_She died, and with my own hands I bore her to the tomb… and I laughed with a long and bitter laugh as I found no traces of the first in the channel where I laid the second._

-Edgar Allan Poe

…

A quick flash passed through her eyes and then, a sudden weakness made her fall on her knees, trembling towards the wooden table. Her hands squeezed the edge trying to avoid the tripping, but she was shaking hard, unable to see or even yell, the pain flooding through her body as her vision faded and the darkness took control it.

She coughed, and a few drops of blood fell onto her apron, a dark, gorgeous red staining the pure white of the clothing, the final sign of her darkest nightmare and biggest fear. She, who stayed there in order to help others, now became the newest victim of the red plague.

The echo of steps behind her was the only sound she could notice, and as her hands started to slip from the table edge she moaned, scared and weak:

-Please… help…

She didn’t want to die, not there, into the darkness, with the dungeons as their only witnesses, the rotten smell in the air and the cold of the floor like her own veiling chapel, alone… And then a couple of hands grabbed her shoulders; a sharp yet kind voice whispered, like a cold breeze caressing her ear:

-I’m here.

Renata tried to lift her head and face the person talking to her, but at the first try her hands dropped and every sound and smell and sensation faded as the unconsciousness swallowed her tortured mind.

Slowly, her eyes opened at the sight of a shy red light swinging over her. Her body was still weak, and felt the rough material of the place she was lying of; twisting her neck could see she was on a table, once she haven’t seen before at the dungeons, and with a quick look she knew the place wasn’t actually the dungeons, though it looked pretty similar. The walls were covered by shelves which held a superb collection of jars, glass vials and cases, everything ordered so perfectly it was easy to view even from the distance; the jars contained a lot of weird stuff such as gastric parasites and pieces of organs floating in formaldehyde, the glass vials had even more strange content, and the cases held every class of medical instruments. A small, dark desk presided one of the shelves, covered in papers and a few old books, and behind it, a small painting hanging from the almost naked wall. The light was so weak she couldn’t take a view of it, and yet it was mesmerizing… The painting seemed like was talking to her, in the same silent voice the Arcana used to talk, _“come closer, look at me”._

Renata got down the table, holding tight to the edge as the dizziness was still around, and gave a few steps before the known sound of a door opening made her stop and watch. From the door a tall, thin figure covered in white clothing and black gloves appeared a calmed smile through their face and two red eyes nailed on her.

-Quaestor? –she murmured. Their smile went bigger, their sharp teeth showering behind their lips.

-Miss Archer, what a delight seeing you awake. For a few moments I though you went to reunite with your ancestors… too bad I was wrong.

Such a strange comment, she thought, but coming from Valdemar it almost sounded normal. The Quaestor walked towards the girl, extending their arms as they wanted to hug her, but instead they just pointed at the shelves and asked:

-Have you seen it? This is my private collection of gorgeous subjects I’ve collected through time. A magnificent gallery of the human body, a love letter for the most bold actions the Medicine has taken, even against the rotten ideas of moral and… goodwill. –Valdemar made the pantomime as they were about to vomit, and shrugged. –Those who aren’t capable to expand their knowledge and cross the frontier of the good and evil, those cannot be named scientists, no sir. They’re just crying nuns babbling of unnecessary topics like ethics and values… those things doesn’t have a place in a world like ours, don’t you think so, miss Archer?

Renata passed her eyes upon the jars. There, the vestiges of past lives which weren’t never recovered made her shiver, or perhaps it was just for the sudden cold at Valdemar’s office, for now she didn’t doubt that’s where she was.

Suddenly, a gloved hand came across her face and held from a cheek, making her turn upon Valdemar and face them. For a time, the only expressions she could observe at the Quaestor’s face were utterly indifference, sadism at the sight of a new, unfortunate patient, and disappointment against Julian every time he failed, but this time they were smiling in soft, almost tender way to her, their eyes half closed and veiled by their eyelashes.

-Poor miss Archer –they sighed, rubbing their thumb against her cheek –, so young, yet already condemned to die. It’s the most precious irony of death, you know? How many times I’ve heard people yelling “How can this be? They were so young!” at the sight of a loved being laying on their deathbed, begging to doctors and gods to save their useless, overrated lives? I’ve lost count, of course, and I lived thinking of how pathetic they looked, their faces reddened and covered in disgusting tears, pulling their own hairs in despair… If they knew… if they just knew…

Valdemar loose the girl’s face and walked upon their desk, passing by to reach the mysterious painting behind it, and stared at it with the same melancholic expression.

-Lives are useless until they reach the agony point, miss Archer. That’s something I tried to explain to my colleagues, but they used to call me heartless and assassin… I’m none of those, I’m beyond every pleasure from this Earth to put such effort in mortal stuff. And yet I’ve had one single dream, the only thing I’ve desired for myself, to preserve that single life from the death, and keeping it with me, as it should be a long time ago…

-What are you talking about? –Renata asked, concerned. That was the most weird conversation she has had with the Quaestor by far. Valdemar tilted their head upon her and blinked.

-Tonight when I found you laying on your knees and spouting blood I knew the death was going to claim you soon, and I knew the moment was at last propitious to finish my job.

-Your… job?

She trembled from head to toes. What kind of job they were talking about? It was that Valdemar was planning to use her body as their new experiment toy once she died? She saw a lot of victims pass at the dissection tables, with the horror bumping hard in her heart, those piles of bodies whom were never be claimed by familiars nor friends, condemned to disappear at the pyres of the Lazaret but not without perform the main character at the Quaestor’ studies.

Valdemar spoke again, their voice going deeper and… sad?

-I’m not used to lose, miss Archer, and still I got a pretty tiny list of lost things, and the most important of those laid in one of my tables… nine years ago. It was the first time I decided death was my foe, and I fought to take a small part of that prize from it, so death couldn’t have her whole…

Valdemar removed the painting and put it on the desk, revealing a hole carved on the wall. The girl stretched her neck to take a better look, but the Quaestor’s body covered almost the whole hole, and she stared at the painting. Two women, sitting at the both sides of the painting, smiled at the viewer; one of them was wearing a white gown and fresh flowers as a crown, and the other had a black dress and dry flowers around her head. Their hearts were out their chests, connected to their respective owner by veins, stitched together at the center of the portrait. Renata frowned, staring at the women’s faces, not just because they were so similar, almost like twins, but for the disturbing alike they share with… herself.

-When they bought me her body she was still warm, soft like a dove’s feathers. –the Quaestor said as they put out a jar from the hole. –I thought I would never see her again, she was about to be buried soon, her existence destroyed and devoured by worms and maggots, far from the world, from me… So, I had to take a choice, so she will never be so far from me again.

Valdemar put the jar next to the painting, showing it to miss Archer. In it, a human heart floated in the same greenish liquid the organs of the shelves float; it seemed like it was cut with such precision the valves were untouched and full. At the sight of the heart, the girl felt a sudden dizziness, something weird since it wasn’t the fisrt time she looked at a human organ, but there was something about that heart which disturbed her.

-What… is this from? –Renata asked, guiding one hand to the jar.

-Don’t you recognize it? –Valdemar replied, a bit disappointed. –How can this be? Cannot you recognize the warm muscle which held your existence, the one who worked to keep the life of the person who loved you the most? The heart which shut down nine years ago, in a rainy November evening, beaten by a woman’s body invaded by phthisis?

Renata gaped at the heart, her own beating faster as she understood the nature of that lonely organ in front of her.

-This is… -she said in a trembling voice –my mother’s heart. –her eyes faced Valdemar’s and a sharp moan came from her lips as she backed down, horrified. –How dare you…?

-What’s the difference between this and other hearts you’ve seen before, miss Archer? –the Quaestor replied. –For me, anyways, this is the most precious piece of my museum, and it’s not made for other’s eyes but mine. It’s mine… mine as it should be from the beginning.

Renata digged her nails on her scalp, staring at the jar in pain and terror. Valdemar passed by the desk, their fingers weaved as the approached the scared girl.

-And it happens another one survived, one like her, and when I saw you I knew… I’m a person of science but the world taught me there’s a frontier which can be explained just by magic, beyond the limits of logic and physics, and I accepted it the same day I found you.

Valdemar reached Renata’s face and tried to touch it, but the girl turned it back. The Quaestor went closer and she shrieked:

-Stay back!

They didn’t pay attention to her desperate request, instead they came even closer, until Renata found herself trapped between the table and the Quaestor, their red eyes digged deep into her face.

-You’re so much like her, like Morella… that was her name, am I right? –Valdemar caught her face by the chin, squeezing slightly her cheeks.

-Don’t… don’t touch me! –she yelled, trying to twist her face unsuccessfully.

-Coincidences, miss Archer, are just fortunate accidents made by a chain of events, perfectly explained by logic or… how do you call it, fate? Too bad I had to find you at the end of your precious life, but this time I’ll make sure your presence doesn’t come in vain…

Renata lifted both hands to defend herself, trying to push the Quaestor away, but Valdemar took them quickly by the wrists and twisted them off. They pressed themselves against the girl’s body, their other hand still holding her chin.

-Get away! –she shouted as the Quaestor’s face came closer to hers. –No… Get away from me…!

A pair of cold lips pressed over hers, and Renata struggled harder for a few seconds, horrified by the sudden intrusion. Valdemar put their hand around her neck to hold her closer, their lips wrapped around hers  as they were trying to cover her mouth, drowning her soft complains and giving themselves a better access, deepening the kiss as the girl halt the struggling.

They broke the kiss and stared at Renata’s reddened face, her eyes seemed a bit unfocussed, as she was getting dizzy.

-Please… -she begged, swallowing hard. The begging was received as a yes, and Valdemar kissed her again with more energy, their tongue sliding from her lower lip to her mouth, tangling it to hers and pushing the girl to the table, their hands still holding her wrists to avoid fighting. Once again they left go and noticed a pair of tears sparkling in her eyes. –Please, don’t…

-Don’t? –they chuckled, their lips pressing on her jaw and descending through her collarbone as they held her wrists over her head and their other hand went to their apron, searching for something.

Renata, eyes closed, squirmed and stuttered:

-Please, stop this…

Valdemar lifted their head.

-Right, I’ll stop. –they said. –I think the time has come to… finish what I’ve started, but I wanted… I wanted so badly feel it, that living pulse you bear before taking it away…

Their hand went off their apron and showed off a scalpel just right before Renata’s eyes. She twisted herself immediately, struggling with all her strength and kicking hard to escape.

-Help! –she yelled. –Help me, please!

Valdemar didn’t lose their nerve, using their free arm to press Renata’s chest and using their own body to control the struggling. Their eyes shone with a lustful, horrifying glance as they approached the scalpel to her.

-Keep yourself calm, my dear. –they purred as the scalpel traveled down her blouse, cutting it from the middle. –I’m going to do this quickly if you cooperate.

-Let me GO! Help…!

Suddenly, Valdemar put a hand over her mouth and pressed their body on hers, staring at the door in mistrust. Ignoring the girl’s muffled moans they waited, and a familiar, hated voice came from behind the (luckily) locked door.

-Umm. Quaestor? Are you there? I… I think you need to see something, it’s about the new group of patients…

It was doctor 069’s voice. Valdemar snorted, what a skill from that boy to appear at the less convenient time. Renata struggled with more fierce at the sound of Julian, but they gave her a menacing look and whispered:

-If you make him come in, I’ll have to kill him, too… Do you want it?

-Quaestor? –Julian tried to open the door. Renata stared at Valdemar in a silent cry, dropping the fight as they replied:

-Doctor 069, can you be so nice to come later? Right now I’m more than occupied and it cannot be postponed anymore.

The girl cried more as Julian apologized himself and promised to come later, leaving the dungeon. Both Renata and Valdemar stared at each other, she in utterly fear, they with a bitter sight as they freed her mouth to pull the chopped blouse, leaving her chest completely uncovered.

-So, I see… -Valdemar grunted. –You’ve grown feelings for him, right? Don’t try to hide it, I feel it… right here –their hand pressed over her heart –Don’t you say you’re in love with him, you better don’t say it, or maybe I’ll eviscerate him like a fish. I’d wish to know who your father was, my dear, perhaps I would have performed a few experiments on him, so he would go to the other side knowing he shouldn’t have touched what was mine…

Renata’s face was covered in tears, her lips trembling as Valdemar put the scapel over her ribcage, near to her left breast.

-Please… -she begged –Don’t do this, I beg you…

-Darling, you’ve seen what kind of horrors the plague brings to its victims. Tell me, do you want to die screaming, squirming on your own blood, your muscles aching at every single movement, spouting off your own entrails?

-What… what is the difference with this? –she stuttered.

-The difference, miss Archer, is the reason to. –Valdemar replied. –And you’ll see, I can put over anybody both the most unbearable pain and the huge lack of it…

Renata pouted.

-I don’t want to die…

-Oh, my dear, but you’re already dying. –the Quaestor sighed, giving a kiss on the girl’s forehead. –But I’ll make sure death isn’t a winding road to you… Morella…

The scalpel broke through the ribcage, Renata’s eyes and mouth opened wide, unable to scream or make any sound, paralyzed and still not in a terrible pain as she thought, the feeling was more like the cold, sharp sensation of a needle nailing on the flesh. Valdemar pulled the scalpel until the opening was enough to them, and took the instrument away to enter the opening with their right hand, reaching a single, beating muscle which pulled off the chest.

Renata’s eyes rolled inside her skull and her sphincter failed, her thighs soaked by it as the Quaestor lifted her beating heart to their face. They stared at the morbid view for a long time, smiling as the heart slowed down.

-Mine –they muttered, holding the heart with both hands. –Mine alone…

They kissed the heart with even more passion than Renata’s lips, licking the blood, biting the surface with strength enough to make it bleed more, until they noticed the girl’s body spasms. She was bleeding not just from the huge wound on her chest but from the nose and mouth due to the lack of circulation control.

-Calm down, my dearest… -Valdemar murmured. –It’ll be done soon…

 The Quaestor leaned over her and gave a final kiss as the last gasps vanished and the heart stopped beating. Their hands squeezed the muscle in search of any small movement, wanting to savor every second of it, lengthening that beloved _memento mori_ as more as they could, until no trace of life was left on the girl’s body. And when it happened, Valdemar took their scalpel once more, ready to work the whole night.

A few days later, Julian entered Valdemar’s office without hesitation, holding a bunch of papers. The Quaestor lifted their head in obvious disapproval.

-Forgive me, Quaestor, I think you need to read this… It’s from the last four patients…

-Just leave them over the desk, 069, and the next time you better call before enter. –they grunted. Julian put the papers and noticed a huge jar with something in it.

-Um, Quaestor? May I ask…? –Julian pointed at the jar, and Valdemar gave him a menacing smile.

-What do you exactly want to know, 069?

-Well… I don’t remember seeing this, it seems to contain… by gods! –the doctor claimed. –Are… are those two hearts sewed together?

-Yes, they are. Mother and daughter, respectively, two beautiful women whom died too young… And now –Valdemar half closed their eyes, their smile fading –go away and do your job, and you better not ask me about these again.

Julian gave a final look to the jar. What strange, he thought, the heart which seemed the younger –it means, the newest inside the jar –caught his attention so badly… and something behind his mind, deep inside, woke up in the form of a sudden need.

-T… thank you, Quaestor… -he babbled before abandoning the office.

A question hit him so hard he decided to take his free hour to answer it. Where did Renata go?


End file.
